


resolutions

by acetheticallyy (jacquesdernier)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-26 15:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13239057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacquesdernier/pseuds/acetheticallyy
Summary: The thing about Poe Dameron is that he has been in love with Finn Walker since the day Finn and his friend Rey moved into the apartment across from his in Poe’s second (Finn and Rey’s first) year of college, and as such he is rendered entirely powerless against the bright and excited smile that breaks out across Finn’s face at the prospect of spending New Year’s Eve freezing their asses off in the middle of Times Square.





	resolutions

**Author's Note:**

> is it considered a "belated" nye celebration fic if I post it at 8pm on new year's day?? anyway this fic is called "resolutions" bc the joke is that poe's new year's resolution is to be more gay
> 
> I haven't edited this yet so beware any spelling/grammar errors, they will be fixed in due time
> 
> (written for the wonderfully amazing robin, without whom this fic would not exist bc this was literally their idea)

The thing about Poe Dameron is that he has been in love with Finn Walker since the day Finn and his friend Rey moved into the apartment across from his in Poe's second (Finn and Rey's first) year of college, and as such he is rendered entirely powerless against the bright and excited smile that breaks out across Finn's face at the prospect of spending New Year's Eve freezing their asses off in the middle of Times Square.

It starts because Rey's flight back home gets cancelled at the last minute and Finn had planned to go with her for the holiday and Poe hadn't been planning to do anything that night anyway except sit at home with his dog and try to drown out the sound of too loud fireworks with some classic rock and a few cheesy romantic comedies. And then Rey and Finn are in his apartment trying not to mope about not getting to see Rey's uncle Luke again for the first time in years and Poe is just about to clap his hands together and suggest they do something to raise the mood in the room to something slightly above that of a funeral service when Rey straightens up and gets that look on her face that means she has a plan. Poe freezes. He loves Rey, but her plans aren't always the best.

"Poe didn't you say you used to live in the city?" she asks. He isn't sure at first what that has to do with anything and so he just nods, raising one eyebrow in question as he does so. "Do you still know the way from here?" And yes, of course he does, it's only been two years after all, but what was there for them there? His friends all lived here now, and his parents had moved back to Guatemala as soon as he was settled in at college, so there was no one there that they could spend the holiday with. What else would she even--?

Oh. As his brain runs around in circles, wondering why in the hell Rey suddenly needed directions into the city, her smile widens and it all snaps into place: the ball drop at Times Square.

"Oh god, Rey, you actually want to go to that? It's cold and there's a thousand people there and it's loud and it's really not as fun as it sounds." He's done the Times Square celebration thing more than enough times already. When he was a kid it was exciting, sitting on his dad's shoulders and watching people perform in sparkly outfits as he stayed up way past his bedtime and waited for the confetti to fall as the clock chimed twelve. As he got older, it began to feel more and more overdone. The music was nice, sure, and being with his family was fun, but he could get the same thing at home with less trouble and more warmth. He hasn't been since he was twelve, and now he is twenty-three.

But once Rey wants to do something, there's nothing much anyone can do to convince her it isn't worth it. "Come on, Poe! Maybe the three of us will end up having so much fun we won't even notice how cold and cramped it is. And we'd be celebrating together! We haven't had a proper New Year's celebration as friends since we've known each other, don't you think this would be a great way to start?"

He wants to say that they could have a proper New Year's celebration as friends _right there_ in his apartment, and from there it would be a guarantee that they would have enough fun that they wouldn't notice how cold and cramped it was, because they would be inside a heated apartment, just the three of them. But before he can say anything, Finn puts forth the one argument that Poe couldn't even hope to resist. It's not even really an argument, in fact, and it's embarrassing that Poe caves so easily.

Since the beginning of their friendship, all Finn has had to do to get Poe to do something is flash him that brilliant Finn Walker smile, the one that lifts his whole face and causes his eyes to shine like the stars. Poe is pretty sure that Finn doesn't even notice what he's doing when he smiles like that, which makes it even worse.

And so, when Finn turns that smile on him, saying that he agrees, that he thinks they'll have fun, Poe can feel his resolve start to fall to the ground around him like a house made of straw. The way his smile softens just a bit when he says, "I promise we can leave if you really hate it once we've been there for a while," completely blows apart his argument for staying home. His heart squeezes pitifully in his chest, and he agrees with only the slightest hint of a crack in his voice.

After a quick call to his neighbors to make sure they can watch his dog while they're all out, they make their way downstairs to start the drive into the city. Rey smirks at him the whole way to his car, fully aware that the only reason he agreed to go is because Finn wanted to. While Finn is completely oblivious to the effect he has on Poe, Rey has known forever, and it is not likely that she will ever let him forget it.

* * *

The decision to ring in the new year at Times Square was made at the last minute, and it shows in the sheer volume of people that are already there before them. The event is in full swing, people dancing and cheering and singing along off-key to the pop music that plays up and down the street. They stick near the back of the crowd, too far from anything to see, but the party is no less loud than Poe imagines it would be if they were any closer. Except for, perhaps, the music, but even so he is almost certain that the volume of the people where they are more than makes up for it.

As loud as it is, and as much as his ears are near burning because the air is so cold, Poe finds himself having fun. The shear excitement radiating from Rey and Finn puts him in high spirits, and it becomes clear after a while that he is more taken with the event than he has been in a while, maybe even since he was a child. Their laughter makes him forget about the crowd, makes him forget about the bodies pressing in on either side of him, and he doesn't feel quite so cold while he's huddled near Finn and Rey, telling them stories about previous News Year's spent in the city, and the schools he went to before college, and the time he accidentally got stuck in one of the displays in the Museum of the City of New York when he was nine.

("You did not!" Rey shouts, amusement clear in her voice.

"I did!" he insists. "I opened this door to a 1930's Brooklyn exhibit, only it wasn't supposed to be an open exhibit, the door just wasn't closed properly, and I ended up locking myself in for like ten minutes."

Finn ducks his head against Poe's shoulder as he laughs and Poe feels his heart grow three sizes in his chest.)

By the time everyone turns in the direction of the ball in the center of the square to start the countdown, he's forgotten all about Finn's promise to go right back home if he wasn't having fun. Poe hadn't even noticed that much time had passed already.

Finn and Rey are both looking towards the ball with a childish glee in their eyes, and Finn's smile is just as bright as ever, even from where he has his face half hidden underneath his scarf and the hat that Poe had lent him when he saw Finn practically trying to disappear into his jacket to keep his ears warm. The countdown begins, starting at thirty and gradually getting louder until the voices reach a fever pitch at the ten second mark. Funny enough, the louder they get, the less Poe hears. It seems as if the closer the clock gets to midnight, the slower time starts to move. Everything freezes, and it feels like everyone is at a complete standstill; nobody is moving, nobody is speaking, everything is quiet. The only thing Poe can hear is the thud of his heart in his chest and the deafening silence that can only come with a moment of this much weight in a place where everyone was louder than the loudest noise on Earth.

It could be midnight and it could be five minutes past midnight. For all Poe knows, they could still be counting down. "Finn," he says, and it can't be nearly loud enough for Finn to hear, not with all the noise he knows is currently being made, even though it sounds much too loud to his own ears. Somehow, Finn hears him anyway. Or maybe he doesn't. Maybe Finn just turns because he was already thinking of turning towards him, and maybe he turns because Poe is right and the clock has already struck midnight. It doesn't matter why he turns, not when the bright smile on his face softens into something quieter, into something much more intimate. Into something just for Poe.

Maybe the countdown is still happening. Maybe it's already happened. Maybe it's just ended. It doesn't matter. Finn moves in closer and somehow Poe finds his arms wrapped tightly around his friend's waist. He's distantly aware of someone bumping into him, causing him to stumble a little closer, but except for how it brings him closer to Finn, it barely registers.

As their lips meet, the sounds of the crowd gradually come back into existence. The cheer of the crowd grows louder and louder, and it isn't for them, but it might as well be, for all Poe is concerned. The thought of all of Times Square cheering exclusively because Poe finally got his head out of his ass strikes him as funny enough that he has to pull away from Finn for a second. He rests his forehead against Finn's as he chuckles at the idea. This close, he can see every different shade of brown in Finn's eyes.

Poe doesn't realize that Finn has been trying to tell him something until he sees a sparkling glint in Finn's eyes that clues him in to the fact that Finn is laughing as well. "Sorry, I just," Poe laughs, shaking his head. "I just, uh...what?"

Finn laughs again, the sound a thousand times more musical than the version of Auld Lang Syne that is currently ringing through Times Square. "I was just wondering if you ended up having fun."

Poe presses his lips against Finn's again in a gentle kiss before he answers. The matching grins on their faces make it a little harder than it should be, but he can't bring himself to care. "Finn I'm pretty sure this is the best New Year's I've had in a long time."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, this is a lot better than staying home with BB and the Netflix romcom menu."

He isn't sure how long they stay there, like that, before Rey finally gets tired of letting them have their moment and knocks into them with a fond roll of her eyes and tells them they should probably get going if they want to make it home before the throng of people in Times Square clogs up the streets. Poe surprises himself by wanting to stay, just a little longer, just to stretch this moment on for as long as it will last.

Finn grabs his hand as they make their way to the car and Poe thinks that maybe leaving isn't going to break the moment at all. Maybe leaving will just make it better.


End file.
